2023-08-01 06:39:00
“Over a day, a longshoreman spends more time talking to his horse than to his own family.”
In one sentence, Jean-Claude Louis, kingpin of the horse-drawn competition at the Libramont Fair, sums up the bond uniting, in the forest, a longshoreman and his faithful companion.
And like every Fair Monday, the Grand Ring hosted a competition to show the strengths of the workhorse. And this through three tests: maneuverability, the speech test during which the horse is guided just by the voice, and the famous “invention of the devil” – a specificity of Libramont – consists of pulling a cart with more and more weight.
A rainy fair Monday this year.
“The participants have to adapt because on the ground it does not necessarily slide in the same waynotes Jean-Claude Louis. But in the end, it doesn’t really change real conditions in the forest where the ground is often wetter.”
More candidates than last year
During this edition, 21 candidates competed. Including two candidates from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. A larger number this year compared to the edition which had seen 16 candidates compete.
Particularity, some are real pros while others try their hand at skidding for leisure.
“We also see that some horses have never seen much of the forest, observes Jean-Claude Louis. But among the professionals, some really come to win. Because winning a prize at Libramont is always a prestige given the visibility.”
And still, it was in the rain that this 43rd horse-drawn competition ended with the award ceremony, which remains the last official moment of the Fair. 1st place went to Mickael Nelisse and his horse Eole de Nargaufay.
1690881081
#longshoreman #talks #horse #wife
